Eleventh hour effort pays off
SMK Permas Jaya, Masai, Johor
A LAST-minute submission of an entry to The Star’s Newspaper-inEducation (NiE) Game4Life contest by a group of Form Five students was a worthwhile attempt as they bagged the state-level Outstanding Award for their masterpiece.
Members of The Ace Breakers were all joyous when they were told the good news.
The team had submitted its entry just a day before the closing day on June 24, its members thankful that they were able to complete their Public Service Announcement (PSA) poster on time.
Siti Syafinaz Kamaruzzaman said that although it was a “last minute” effort, she and her teammates found it a rewarding experience.
“We did not receive the grand prize but participating in the contest organised by Star-NiE, has helped us enhance our art and English language skills.
“It was quite a challenge for us to complete our ‘masterpiece’ as we needed to juggle between school, studies, mid-year examinations and also our extra classes but we managed to allocate time for it,” she said after the award presentation ceremony by Star Media Group Johor bureau chief Nelson Benjamin at SMK Permas Jaya, Johor.
The other team members P. Deventhiran, Nurfatehah Andreana Luqman Haziq Pengarah and Puteri Nelly Zulaikha Hishamuddin were also present.
The Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination candidates took about three weeks to come up with a poster that reflected their unity theme.
Deventhiran said that orange and yellow were extensively used for their entry.
Being bright colours they were often associated with joy, and positive vibes in Malaysia’s multiracial society.
“The tagline for our poster was ‘Unity Brings Victory’ which reflects the recent Rio Olympics held in Brazil. “Athletes of all races with different values and religion came together to fight for medals for Malaysia,” added the 17-yearold student.
Nurfatehah Andreana said such contests encouraged them to improve on their vocabulary and grammar. They also had to speak with confidence in English as throughout the process, they had to discuss their project only in the universal language.
Their contest coordinator teacher Nur Zafira Zulkefli said the contest content itself needed a lot of critical thinking from the students. The participants needed to justify every statement right down to their main concept.
“The language department head Zarinah Ibrahim and I had to assist the team with the tagline and the short paragraph to explain their message and to keep it in line with the theme,” she said.
Nur Zafira added that students had a better grasp of the English language and were using the right terms to describe and write sentences, especially after they started working on the poster.
SMK Permas Jaya principal Borhanuddin Mansur said that he encouraged students to participate in competitions as it was a chance for them to showcase their talents and knowledge, in addition to boosting their confidence.
“Speaking in English helps improve the students’ vocabulary and grammar,” he said, adding that being proficient in the language was an asset.
Meanwhile, Benjamin who was present on behalf of editor-in-chief Datuk Leanne Goh, said the programme is a joint effort between the media group and schools to promote the use of the newspapers as an educational resource in the classroom. The programme, now in its 19th year, remains a powerful tool in motivating students build their basic literacy skills and develop critical thinking abilities.
“This year, our Public Service Announcement contest continues to lend students a voice and a platform for them to develop critical thinking skills and become informed, involved citizens of the future,” added Benjamin.
He said that the Game4Life contest theme chronicles our times and stimulates young minds.
He added that the media group was happy to be able to provide students with an opportunity to showcase their thoughts on the theme in conjunction with our National Sports Day.